Talk, Talk, Talk

How Important is Language? It allows us to… Express feelings and needs Interact in social settings Use language to make friends Discuss and express ideas Learn from others Gain information about their world Communication and Social skills Learns to take turn in conversations Resolves conflict Carol Seefeldt (2004)

Language Development 3 and 4 years –Speaks in nearly complete sentences –Makes up words and rhymes –Tells or repeats stories, but not in sequence/order –Asks “wh” questions; why, how, where, who and when Carol Seefeldt (2004)

Language Development 5 and 6 years –Continues to expand vocabulary to 5,000 to 8,000 words –Learning that words have more than one meaning –Often misunderstands words and use them in silly way Carol Seefeldt (2004)

How Important is Language in the Classroom? Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills- Kindergarten (1) Listening/speaking/purposes. The student listens attentively and engages actively in a variety of oral language experiences. The student is expected to: -determine the purpose(s) for listening to such as to get information, to solve problems, and to enjoy and appreciate (K-3); -respond appropriately and courteously to directions and questions (K-3);

TEKS -participate in rhymes, songs, conversations and discussions (K-3); -listen critically to interpret and evaluate (K-3); -listen responsively to stories and other texts read aloud, including selections from classic and contemporary works (K-3); and - identify the musical elements of literary language such as its rhymes or repeated sounds(K-1).

TEKS (2) Listening/speaking/culture. The student listens and speaks to gain knowledge of his/her own culture, the culture of others, and the common elements of cultures. The student is expected to: -connect experiences and ideas with those of others through speaking and listening (K-3); and -compare language and oral traditions (family stories) that reflect customs and regions and cultures (K-3).

TEKS Listening/speaking/audiences/oral grammar. The students speaks appropriately to different audiences for different purposes and occasions. The students is expected to: -choose and adapt spoken language appropriate to the audience, purpose, and occasion, including use of appropriate volume and rate (K-3); -use verbal and nonverbal communication in effective ways when making announcements, giving directions, or making introductions (K-3);

TEKS - ask and answer relevant questions and make contributions in small or large group discussions (K-3); -present dramatic interpretations of experiences, stories, poems, or plays (K-3); and -gain increasing control of grammar when speaking such -as using subject-verb agreement, complete sentences, and correct tense (K-3).

TEKS (4) Listening/speaking/communication. The student communicates clearly by putting thoughts and feeling into spoken words. The student is expected too: -learn the vocabulary of school such as numbers, shapes, colors, directions, and categories (K-1); -use vocabulary to describes clearly, ideas, feeling and experiences (K-3) -clarify and support spoken messages using appropriate props such as objects, pictures, or charts (K-3); and -retell a spoken message by summarizing or clarifying (k-3).

What Can You Do? Things to do at home –Vocabulary- ask your child to name the objects in the picture book; talk about words your child does not know -Prediction- after reading part of a story, ask your child, “What do you think will happen next?” (Parent Articles for Speech/Language Pathology)

What Can You Do? –Modeling-refers to restating the child’s comments, adding a few words, thereby making an utterance more mature and grammatically correct. For example, a child says: “Her running.” Parent or teacher can model: Oh, she is running!” (Parent Articles for Speech/Language Pathology)

What Can You Do? Expansion- refers to adding information to a child’s comment, thereby modeling more advanced language structures and/or vocabulary. –For example, a child says: “The cat is running !” Parents or teachers can expand by saying: “Yes, the big yellow cat is running quickly!” (Parent Articles for Speech/Language Pathology)

What Can You Do? Parallel Talk- refers to talking about what the child is doing while involved in an activity –For example, as a child plays with cars, parallel talk can include comments such as: You chose the red car. You’re driving it carefully on that long ramp! Oops, it crashed! The red car fell off!” (Parent Articles for Speech/Language Pathology)

Other Activities Books Visit the Library Go on a walk Shopping Zoo

Other Activities Games (i.e., Go Fish, Uno..) Language Games (i.e., I Spy, Red Light, Green Light, Simon Says..) (Parent Articles for SLP) Cooking Making Popcorn

Sources of Information Attenborough, Liz (2004). Big plans for small talk. Literacy Today (40), 7(1). Rivalland, Judith (2004). Oral language and access to school discourse. Austrian Journal of Language and Literacy 27,2, 142(7). Seefeldt, Carol (2004). The power of language. Scholastic Parent and Child 12,1, 36(6). Stanton-Chapman, Tina, Chapman, D., Kaiser, A., Hancock T. (2004). Cumulative risk and low-income children’s language development. Topic in Early Childhood Special Education 24,4, 227(11). Parent Articles for Speech Language Patholgy.